Thousands of people have been left stranded on Thailand’s southern gulf coast – popular with tourists – as Tropical Storm Pabuk made landfall on Friday.
Tropical storm Pabuk lashed southern Thailand with wind and rain, in what was expected to be the worst storm to hit the region in 30 years.
Rain, wind and surging seawater from the tropical storm has buffeted coastal villages and tourist resorts, knocking down trees and utility poles and flooding roads.
Authorities suspended all flights and ferry services ahead of the storm, which officially made landfall in the Pak Panang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province around 3:30 p.m. local time, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 95 kilometers per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center – leaving many stranded.
Thousands managed to escape the Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan islands but many are riding out the storm.
Before the storm, more than 6,100 people were evacuated from their homes in four provinces, according to the department of disaster prevention and mitigation.
“We can expect heavy rain and downpours, flooding and flash floods in the area throughout the night,” said the meteorological department’s director general, Phuwieng Prakhammintara.
The eye of the tropical storm is passed over Nakhon Si Thammarat, to the south overnight, and is expected to weaken into a tropical depression over Surat Thani province.
“But all tourist islands in the Gulf of Thailand including Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao will be affected because Pabuk is huge,” Prakhammintara said.
Southern Thailand also has popular resort destinations on its west coast on the Andaman Sea, and they now await the storm.
